Faculty and Research

Arthur Daemmrich is an assistant professor in the Business, Government and the International Economy Unit and a faculty member of the HBS Healthcare Initiative. His research analyzes the governance of science, technology, and medicine, along with challenges to regulatory institutions that result from changing scientific and biomedical knowledge. Daemmrich's scholarly work is empirically grounded in comparative studies of regulatory institutions in the United States and Europe, and sector-level research into the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical industries.

Based on interdisciplinary training and interests, Daemmrich has published on regulation, innovation, and science, technology, and business policy in diverse scholarly and trade journals. His first book, Pharmacopolitics (2004), compared drug regulation in the United States and Germany, with a focus on regulatory laws, clinical trials, and adverse reaction reporting systems in the two countries. His edited volume, Perspectives on Risk and Regulation: The FDA at 100 (2007) drew on contributions by FDA officials and industry leaders to explore current and future trends in the regulation of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food, and dietary supplements. Daemmrich is currently writing a book comparing voluntary and command-and-control regulatory styles in the U.S. and EU, drawing on research into new testing programs for chemicals in our bodies and in the environment. He is also initiating a research project on healthcare and information technology that will compare internationally the legal and regulatory boundaries put on the commercialization of biomedical information and explore implications for companies developing personalized health products and services.

Before joining the HBS faculty in 2007, Daemmrich was the founding director of the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, where he led a group carrying out theoretical and applied work on innovation, entrepreneurship, and scientific and industrial infrastructure. He holds a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies from Cornell University (2002) and a B.A. in History and Sociology of Science and German Literature (dual-degree) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Curriculum Vitae